Reliving The Fear Of Sputnik
This column was written by The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.
I was 6 years old in 1957. A red-blooded American first grader at the Indiana Avenue School in Lansing, Ill. It was a giant old stone fortress that was built in the 1800s. On the roof and in plain sight for all of us to see were the civil defense sirens. Bright yellow, cone shaped. They were tested on a regular basis and we would dutifully duck and cover when the sirens wailed.
Yep. That was how we fought the Russians back in the day. We knew they had the bomb and if they were going to drop one on us, we'd be safe.
Then came news of Sputnik. The Soviets did what? They put a satellite into outer space? Suddenly we weren't feeling quite so secure. What is that thing doing up there? Are they spying on us? Suddenly the Russians seemed even more sinister than before. They weren't just evil but evil geniuses with rockets and satellites and the bomb.
This whole business of being afraid, it's been around for awhile.
Harry's daily commentary can be heard on many CBS Radio News affiliates across the country.